Attend a comedy show where 10 stand-up artistes will hurl insults at each other

Sonali Thakker

It happens all too often on the streets of India. Two people get into a public spat. Their heated argument sometimes turns into a physical scuffle. Bystanders gather to watch the tamasha. They derive a certain sense of perverse pleasure from every insult that the combating duo hurls at each other. But eventually, order is restored. The two people go their own way. The crowd disperses. And life returns to normal.

This sort of voyeuristic trait that the bystanders display is why the concept of a roast is ingrained in the DNA of Indian audiences, feels Kashyap Swaroop. The comedian is slated to per­f­orm at one such event in Andheri this evening. It will feature 10 stand-up comics slinging mud at each other. The list includes Sonali Thakker, Pavitra Shetty, Navin Noronha and Abbas Momin, who will collectively throw political correctness out of the window. There will be no quarters given or expected. And each comic will have a one-point agenda - saying something offensive about the others on stage while being funny at the same time.

Kashyap Swaroop

"Indians are maturing and starting to acknowledge that offending or insulting someone doesn't always have to have bad intent. Sometimes, it's just for entertainment," Swaroop elaborates, on how the country's audiences are gradually warming up to the idea of a roast. "And in a way, roasts can be the gateway drug to mainstream or alternative comedy for people here," he adds. He also says that learning to laugh at one's self is an important character-building tool. "Life is one big tragedy which, if looked at from the outside, might seem like a comedy. So, you must look at your own life too through that lens, to give yourself some perspective once in a while. It becomes a mechanism to get over things," Swaroop tells us.

He goes on to reveal that the format for this particular show will involve the comedians roasting each other one on one. "I have been paired with Raunaq Rajani, who is a nice human being apart from being a fine stand-up comic. So, we called up each other to ask, 'Hey, what is a fine line that you don't want crossed?' And since we are now aware of those boundaries, we will crack jokes within them, simply because we don't want to drag friends and family into the picture. Because even if it's insult comedy, you can still be dignified," he signs off.

On Tonight, 8.30 pm
At Fun Republic Social, Andheri West
Log on to insider.in
Entry Rs400

Also read: Richa Chadha to perform stand-up comedy in front of 300 people

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, current affairs from Mumbai, local news, crime news and breaking headlines here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go